2 Alaska Troopers Allegedly Used Taser and Sicced Dog on Man During Arrest — But It Was the Wrong Person: Police

The Alaska State Trooper and K9 handler are facing misdemeanor assault charges after they allegedly used force on a man who had the same last name of a person with an active warrant

Two Alaska state troopers are facing assault charges after allegedly pulling over, Tasering and using a police dog to attack a man — when they were actually looking for his cousin.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety James Cockrell announced in a news conference that two officers had been charged with fourth-degree assault — a misdemeanor — following the incident that took place on May 24 in the Kenai Peninsula city of Soldotna, southwest of Anchorage.

According to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Trooper Joseph Miller, 49, and K9 officer Jason Woodruff, 42, initially responded to a report in May that stated a car had been found that was registered to a man with an active misdemeanor warrant. The Associated Press reported that the man's warrant was for allegedly failing to serve his sentence for driving with a revoked license.

Charging documents obtained by the AP state that Miller and Woodruff allegedly failed to check who was actually inside the vehicle, and ordered the man inside to get out, even though the man allegedly told the troopers he was not the subject of any warrants.

Miller then smashed the rear window of the car with his baton and sprayed pepper spray inside, the documents allege. The man then got out of the car, and Miller allegedly kicked him in the shin, punched him in the back of the head or neck and stepped on his — which forced his face into broken glass on the ground from the rear window, per the AP.

“There should have been some additional questions asked before we broke the window and drug him out of his car,” Cockrell said during the press conference.

Miller also allegedly used a stun gun on the man while another state trooper — who was not charged — tried to handcuff him. At one point, according to charging documents cited by the AP, Miller accidentally hit the other trooper with the Taser.

Woodruff also allegedly deployed a police dog to bite the man, the documents claim. Even after the man tried to move away from the dog and pleaded with Woodruff to "please stop the dog" multiple times, Woodruff allegedly commanded it to continue biting.

The AP reported that the man needed surgery to repair muscle lacerations after the incident.

Footage of the incident, which was captured on a body camera, will be released in full after the criminal investigation is complete, Cockrell said during the press conference.

"Personally, when I reviewed this video, I was totally sickened by what I saw," he said.

As emergency medical personnel were getting ready to transport the man to the hospital, the AP reported, troopers then realized that he was not the person they were looking for; rather, the two men were cousins with the same last name.

The troopers arrested the man on several charges, but the Kenai District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges, the charging documents added.

"I've been with this department 33 years, and I’ve never seen any action like this before by an Alaska State Trooper," Cockrell said during the press conference. "Because of their actions, there was significant injuries to the person that went to the hospital that was in that vehicle."

Both officers were placed on administrative leave, he added, and said that the police dog — named Olex, according to the AP — has been taken out of service.

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Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation are looking into the case, per the AP. According to the charging documents, Miller allegedly told the investigators that they would not have needed to use force if the man had just got out of the car and complied with their commands.

"Let me be clear, the actions of these two individuals are not acceptable to me, not in line with our training and policy, and I know it is not acceptable to the Alaskans we serve," Cockrell wrote in the press release.

The officers are due in state court in Kenai, Alaska on Sept. 10, according to the AP. It's not clear if they've entered pleas or retained attorneys.

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